2015 Lincoln MKC: Car Seat Check

It appeared with actor Matthew McConaughey in Lincoln’s heavily discussed and parodied TV ads, but the 2015 Lincoln MKC should have been the star of the commercial. Based on its sibling, the Ford Escape, this five-passenger compact luxury crossover is good looking both inside and out. Did it perform in our Car Seat Check as well as McConaughey did in “True Detective”?

How many car seats fit in the second row? Two

More Car Seat Checks

What We Like

• The two sets of lower Latch anchors and the three tether anchors on the seatbacks are easy to use. The Latch anchors are exposed, and the tether anchors have lots of clearance around them (once you get to them).
• The rear-facing convertible installed easily in the MKC’s backseat, but we had to move the front passenger seat forward an inch or so to fit it back there. Our tester had enough legroom to sit comfortably, however.
• Both the forward-facing convertible and the high-back booster seat fit easily into the MKC. Stable seat belt bases should be easy for younger children in booster seats to use.

What We Don’t

• Lincoln recommends threading the tether strap between the head restraint and seatback when connecting to the seatback’s tether anchor, but the head restraints are difficult to adjust. We threaded the strap and connector hook under the head restraint, but it was difficult to do because there wasn’t much clearance.
• To fit the rear-facing infant seat in the MKC, we had to move the front passenger seat forward a lot. Our tester was uncomfortable sitting in the passenger seat.

Grading Scale

A: Plenty of room for the car seat and the child; doesn’t impact driver or front-passenger legroom. Easy to find and connect to Latch and tether anchors. No fit issues involving head restraint or seat contouring. Easy access to the third row.

B: Plenty of room. One fit or connection issue. Some problems accessing third row when available.

C: Marginal room. Two fit or connection issues. Difficult to access third row when available.

D: Insufficient room. Two or more fit or connection issues.

F: Does not fit or is unsafe.

About Cars.com’s Car Seat Checks

Editor Jennifer Newman is a certified child safety seat installation technician. Editor Jennifer Geiger is working on renewing her certification.

For the Car Seat Check, we use a Graco SnugRide Classic Connect 30 infant-safety seat, a Britax Marathon convertible seat and Graco TurboBooster seat. The front seats are adjusted for a 6-foot driver and a 5-foot-8 passenger. The three child seats are installed in the second row. The booster seat sits behind the driver’s seat, and the infant and convertible seats are installed behind the front passenger seat.

We also install the forward-facing convertible in the second row’s middle seat with the booster and infant seat in the outboard seats to see if three car seats will fit; a child sitting in the booster seat must be able to reach the seat belt buckle. If there’s a third row, we install the booster seat and a forward-facing convertible. To learn more about how we conduct our Car Seat Checks, go here.

Parents should also remember that they can use the Latch system or a seat belt to install a car seat, and that Latch anchors have a weight limit of 65 pounds, including the weight of the child and the weight of the seat itself.

Cars.com photos by Evan Sears